Terminal Portion of a Robotic Pick-Up Element Provided with Vacuum Suction Cups

ABSTRACT

A terminal portion for a robotic pick-up element lifts and transfers objects, the terminal portion lifts objects using vacuum suction cups. The terminal portion includes: a) a main unit, on the lower face of which are fixed a support suction cup and a vacuum transfer suction cup connected to the pneumatic equipment; b) a secondary unit, on the lower face of which are mounted a plurality of pick-up suction cups, the suction passages of which are connected to a single collecting passage opening into a hole on the upper face of the secondary unit which is smooth and shaped to adhere to the support cup and the vacuum transfer cup when they are placed next to it and the vacuum transfer cup of the main unit coaxially faces the hole of the secondary unit.

The present invention relates to the field of robotic systems which move objects according to predetermined programs, by lifting these objects with pick-up elements and transferring them to positions other than the initial positions in which they were picked up.

As is known, according to requirements, the operations described above, which are controlled and directed by an electronic computer, can be carried out along the two coordinate axes defining a horizontal plane or along a set of three orthogonal axes.

More specifically, the invention relates to the terminal portions of the aforementioned pick-up elements. As those skilled in the art will know, these elements terminate in suction cups connected to pneumatic equipment which activates the suction cup by creating a vacuum inside it.

Depending on the type of object to be picked up, in other words depending on the shape, the weight, the roughness of the outer surface, etc., suction cups with different characteristics have to be used, and this makes it necessary to change them, possibly on many occasions, during a single operating cycle. This requires manual intervention by an operator, with considerable loss of time. Above all, the fact that the said operator has to intervene within the operating area of a robotic system also entails a more than negligible risk of accidents.

The inventor of the subject of the present application has provided a solution to the problems described above, by devising a terminal portion of the type described above, but made in such a way that it can be used for a considerable number of objects of different types, because of the possibility of replacing it rapidly and easily with other similar portions carrying suction cups of different types and/or sizes.

The inventor has devised a terminal portion for a robotic pick-up element comprising a main unit provided with two suction cups, the first of which acts as a support cup while the second acts as a vacuum transfer cup. By means of the attractive force exerted by the first suction cup, the main unit is connected to, and supports, a secondary unit which is provided with a plurality of pick-up suction cups of different types, and transfers the vacuum through the second suction cup to the pneumatic circuit terminating within the latter suction cups.

This can be done because the upper side of the secondary unit has a hole which is connected to all the branches of the pneumatic circuit leading to the said pick-up suction cups, this hole lying inside the said vacuum transfer suction cup when the said main and secondary units are interconnected as described.

By using a different secondary unit from time to time, it is therefore possible to pick up and transfer objects of different types without having to change any suction cups.

At the end of any given operating cycle, it is simply necessary to set the secondary unit down on a suitable support, and pick up another secondary unit having a different set of suction cups, thus preparing for the execution of another operating cycle with no significant downtime.

The present invention therefore proposes a terminal portion for a robotic pick-up element as described in the attached claim 1.

A more detailed description will now be given of a preferred example of embodiment of a terminal portion according to the invention, with additional reference to the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic see-through front view of the said example of embodiment, with the main unit separated from the secondary unit;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1, with the secondary unit connected to the main unit which supports it.

As shown in the figures, the terminal portion 10 according to the invention essentially comprises a main unit 5, on the lower face 5 r of which there are fitted a support suction cup 1 and a vacuum transfer suction cup 2, connected pneumatically to equipment 4 of a known type (only indicated in a general way in the drawings) which can create the desired level of vacuum in the cups.

The said terminal portion 10 also comprises a secondary unit 6, on the lower face 6 r are mounted a plurality of pick-up suction cups 3 i. The latter suction cups 3 i, although shown as substantially identical in the drawings, can in fact also differ from each other, in such a way as to adhere to objects having particular shapes and/or physical characteristics.

Suction passages 7 i terminating in each of the said pick-up suction cups 3 i are formed in the aforesaid secondary unit 6, and these suction passages 7 i are connected to a single collecting passage 8 opening into a hole 9 formed on the upper face 6 s of the said secondary unit 6, which is smooth and shaped in such a way that it can adhere to the previously described support cup 1 and vacuum transfer cup 2 of the main unit 5 when placed next to them.

The terminal portion 10 according to the invention operates as follows: when an object 12 is to be picked up by the combined action of the pick-up suction cups 3 i of the secondary unit 6, the lifting element (not shown in the figures), carrying the main unit 5 at its free end, is moved, while the said equipment 4 is activated in such a way as to generate a vacuum (arrows E, F) within its support cup 1 and vacuum transfer cup 2, and the main unit 5 is brought to a position above the secondary unit 6. The said pick-up element is then used again to set the main unit 5 down on the upper face 6 s of the secondary unit 6, which is supported by a support housing 11 (FIG. 1), making the said support cup 1 and vacuum transfer cup 2 adhere to this upper face. During the working operation, the vacuum transfer cup must be positioned frontally and coaxially with respect to the said hole 9 of the secondary unit 6.

The main unit 5 and the secondary unit 6, which are interconnected pneumatically by the action of the support cup 1, thus form a single assembly, as shown in FIG. 2, and the vacuum E present in the vacuum transfer cup 2 is communicated through the said hole 9 (arrow H) to the collecting passage 8 to which are connected the suction passages 7 i of all the pick-up suction cups 3 i of the secondary unit 6, which are therefore all activated by a vacuum (arrows G) and are thus able to pick up an object 12 adhering to them. By suitably positioning the terminal portion 10, it is therefore possible, as mentioned above, to pick up an object 12 by means of the combined action of its suction cups 3 i, the characteristics of which have been selected according to the physical characteristics of the object 12 to be picked up. This pick-up can therefore be carried out in the most reliable way, and the lifting element can then transfer the object, adhering to the terminal portion 1, to any position other than the initial position in which it has been picked up.

On completion of the operation of picking up and transferring an object 12, it is possible to continue by repeating the operation with other secondary units carrying suction cups of different types, after each secondary unit 6 has be returned to its support housing 11 (FIG. 1). Clearly, the versatility of the system will be considerably enhanced by the provision of a magazine (not shown in the drawings) housing a plurality of secondary units carrying sets of suction cups of different types.

Evidently, in order to make it possible to carry out the operations described above, the upper face 6 s of the secondary unit 6 must be smooth, and its surface must be shaped in such a way that it can adhere perfectly to the bases 1 d, 2 d of the support cup 1 and the vacuum transfer cup 2.

The simplest and most economical way of achieving this result, shown more clearly in FIG. 1, is to make the said upper face 6 s of the secondary unit 6 perfectly flat, and to form the support cup 1 and vacuum transfer cup 2 so that their respective bases 1 d, 2 d lie on a plane α parallel to the plane β on which the upper face 6 s of the secondary unit 6 lies.

It is considered unnecessary to describe the part of the pneumatic system located upstream of the terminal portion 10 according to the invention and its components, such as solenoid valves and the like, since it can be constructed by a person skilled in the art without the need for any further explanation. 

1. Terminal portion (10) for a robotic pick-up element intended to lift objects (12) and transfer them to positions other than the initial positions, the connection between the said terminal portion (10) and the said objects (12) being made by means of suction cups (3 i) in which a vacuum is created by means of pneumatic equipment (4) connected to them, characterized in that it comprises: a) a main unit (5), on the lower face (5 r) of which are fixed a support suction cup (1) and a vacuum transfer suction cup (2) connected to the aforesaid pneumatic equipment (4); b) a secondary unit (6), on the lower face (6 r) of which are mounted a plurality of pick-up suction cups (3 i) which may be of different types, the suction passages (7 i) of which are connected to a single collecting passage (8) opening into a hole (9) formed on the upper face (6 s) of the said secondary unit (6); the upper face (6 s) of the secondary unit (6) being smooth and shaped in such a way as to be able to adhere to both the said support cup (1) and the vacuum transfer cup (2) of the main unit (5) when they are placed next to it and the vacuum transfer cup (2) of the main unit (5) faces, and is coaxial with, the aforesaid hole (9) of the secondary unit (6).
 2. Terminal portion according to claim 1, in which the upper face (6 s) of the said secondary unit (6) is flat, and the said support cup (1) and vacuum transfer cup (2) terminate in their lower parts in bases (1 d, 2 d) lying on a plane (α) parallel to the plane (β) of the said upper face (6 s) of the secondary unit (6). 